Driving up to the apartment complex where Anderson Mitchell lives was a bit of a shock.
The man standing at the top of the stairwell looked different when compared to the pictures he sent of himself, an indication of how the disease he is battling has altered his life.
As he sat on his stool, a bit out of breath from the task of walking, Mitchell proclaimed, “It’s changed my entire lifestyle...All the activities I used to do before, I can’t do them anymore.”
Nearly 11 years ago, the 42-year-old man of Limehead Road, Chase Village, was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a kidney disease that prevents the organ from filtering toxins in his blood. Due to this condition, he now has what is classified as end-stage renal disease, also known as kidney failure.
Despite his calm demeanour, Mitchell’s voice trembled slightly as he explained the ordeal he is still growing accustomed to, years after his diagnosis.
“I usually tell people that kidney failure is possibly one of the worst things that could happen to you...Your quality of life is drastically affected because you have to start doing dialysis...I’m currently doing peritoneal dialysis. Ten hours every day, which is kind of ridiculous. That’s about half a day.”
Peritoneal dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that uses the lining of the abdomen to clean the blood. A tube is placed into the abdomen and a cleaning fluid is injected through the tube. The cleaning fluid absorbs waste from the blood in the abdomen and is then drained and discarded.
In addition to giving up his time to get better, Mitchell’s body is also slowly giving up.
“Your kidneys are very important organs, and your kidneys failing would cause other organs...to feel the brunt as well. So right now, my heart and my lungs are also suffering, so I’m also dealing with hypertension and some breathing issues.”
Since being diagnosed and starting treatment, Mitchell has had to make many sacrifices. He had to drastically reduce the number of hours he worked at his small advertising business, NuArtillery Limited.
“I do work, but the frequency of jobs is significantly less to what I obviously started off with. I would try, for the very most, to work about four hours a day, as opposed to, I used to work eight to 12 hours a day.”
With less time to work, money has also been a cause of concern for Mitchell. Despite receiving help from the State, the dialysis costs still add up.
“I still have rent and bills to pay, like the average, normal person, but then medication. Sometimes trying to acquire a donor costs a lot because to move the process faster, I’m trying not to do it through the public system. I try to do it privately.”
To help offset the costs, Mitchell started a GoFundMe page.
“A lot of the money right now is being spent testing possible donors. I think there’s something like a 15 to 20 per cent chance that I would find a match. You know, after doing the testing, some of the tests could cost as much as $7,000, so working up a possible donor is expensive.”
He also had to give up his passions and hobbies, as his body could no longer handle the strain of doing anything more than merely surviving.
“I was also (into) martial arts, a capoeira instructor and a dance performer, a Latin dance performer and instructor...I used to do adventure races. I used to do a little bit of bodybuilding.”
With a bit of frustration, Mitchell added, “I used to be able to run five miles in about 45 minutes, and now, if I am able to get five feet, I would probably consider myself lucky.”
While Mitchell continues to live to see another day through dialysis, this is not a permanent solution for him.
“The treatment for kidney failure is not dialysis. The treatment for kidney failure is a transplant. They put you on dialysis in the period of time they need to keep you alive.”
What Mitchell really needs to have a chance at life according to him, are:
“Two things that I really need would be a kidney and money to do the transplant. I would actually require a good Samaritan to come forward with my blood type and my other, you know, biological makeup that would match so that we don’t waste a kidney, that my body wouldn’t reject that kidney.”
Mitchell said he is very hopeful that he will receive the kidney that he needs so he can revert to how he was before and give back to T&T.
“Hopefully, I can get my life back to a place where I could contribute to society. I want to work. I want to pay taxes too, you know.”
Anyone wishing to assist Mitchell can call 735-0528 or donate to Republic Bank account number 290801255301.
